Milk-tester.



1\10.734,725.` y PATENTBD JULY 28,1903.`

G. M. LUTHER.

MILK TESTER.

-APPLIUATION FILED APR. 7, 1902.

' 'NiTED STATES Patented July 28, 1903,

PATENT muon.

GEORGE M. LUTHER, OF MILWAUKEE, VISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO LUTHER BROTHERS COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

MILK-TESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 734,725, dated. July 28, 1903.

Application filed April 7, 1902.

To a/ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, GEoRGEM. LUTHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee,'county of Milwaukee, and State of Visconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Milk-Testers, of which the f o1- lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in milk-testers, and pertains especially to that ro class of machines known as the Babcock testers. In most of the machines of this class the bottle-holding tubes are located above the driving-wheel. This causes the standard to vibrate and also compels the opr5 erator to stand in an awkward position, owing to the 'fact that'the testing-tubes revolve in close proximity to his head. The machines heretofore constructed, in which it is sought to avoid this difficulty, have been found too zo expensive or cumbersome for commercial purposes.

The primary .object of my invention is therefore to provide a simple and convenient form of machine, in which the bottle-holding.

z5 tubes are located below the driving gearwheel, in a position convenient for the insertion of the bottles and also ina position of great stability, the bottle-holding tubes being brought close to the base of the standard.`

Other objects of the invention are to sim` plify the construction, expedite assembling the machines, and provide a machinewhich is light in weight and in which friction is reduced to a minimum by antifriction devices 3 5 whichdo not materially increase the cost.

In the following description reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top view of a so-called twobottle tester embodying my invention. Fig.

Fig. 3 is a de,- tail view of the clamp of a four-bottle tester. Fig. 4t is a detail showinga form of construe-f 4o 2 is a side View of the same.

tion by meansof which ball-bearings may be employed without any alteration or separate .45 work upon either the base or the bottle supporting thimble or bracket.

Like parts are identified by the same refer-- ence characters throughout the several views.

`The base casting l is provided with a 5o socket 2, in which a rod 3 is adapted to lit. The upper end 4 of the rod 3 is bent at right seal no. 101,627. (No model.)

angles to its lower portion and forms a bearing for the drive-wheel 5, the lower end being secured in the base l by means of a setscrew 6. The drive-wheel 5 is provided with teeth 7, projecting both laterally and peripherally, as best shown in Fig. 2, whereby said driving gear-wheel is adapted to mesh not only with spur-wheels in the same plane, but with gear-wheels occupying a plane at right angles to the plane of the driving-Wheel.

The bottle-supporting brackets comprise two clamping-plates and ll, respectively. IThe upper plate 10 is fast ou a sleeve l2, which is provided with a pinion I3, adapted to mesh with the laterally-projecting portions of the gear-teeth 7. The lower clampingplate Il is secured to the clamping-plaie 10 by means of bolts 14. The clamping-plate l0 is provided with notchesl, in which the are adapted to engage, whereby when said clamping-plates are secured together by the bolts 14 the wires 17 may be bound between the clamping-plates and prevented from 1ateral movement by engagementin said notches. The wires or rods I7, which support the bot- .,tle-holders, are bent at 20, Fig. l, whereby the bottle-holders are made to stand at an angle to the radii of the standard. This not only facilitates the insertion of the bottles, but also provides for holding the bottles in the best possible positionv for centrifugal action in separating the milk and cream, I having found that in a rotating body there is a tendency t0 L sag away from the line of the propelling force, so that the centrifugal outward pressure is .principally exerted a little to the rear of the 1true radial lines.

In setting up the machine the sleeve 12,` with the clamps 10 and ll, and the bottleholders supported thereby are adjusted in position upon the base, and thestandad-rod 3 is then passed downwardly through the sleeve l2 and the bracketinto the socket 2 of the base until the side teeth of the driving gear-wheel 5 are brought into mesh with the pinion 13, when the set-screw 6 is adjusted to bind the rod 3 in position. A key 25 is inserted through the rod 3 above the pinion 13 to prevent the pinion and sleeve 12 from moving upwardly on the rod when rotated.

. Wires 17, which support the bottle-holders 18,

ICO

For the purposes of a four-bottle tester I provide`fthe clamping-plate 10 with transverse grooves or notches 26 in addition to the longitudinal grooves or notches 16, so that supporting bars or wires of the bottle-holder may be inserted in the grooves 26 at right angles tofthose supported in the grooves 1,6, the bars in the grooves 26 resting upon the bars 17, which are engaged in the grooves 16, as shown in Fig. To provide antifrictionbearings forthe machine, I use a ball-bearing cup 27, interposed between the bracket 1l and the base l and having a central aperture through which the rod 3 passes. A washer 28 rests upon the balls 29, and the plate 11 bears upon the washer. As the standard-rod 3 will hold the ball-bearing cup in position, it is not necessary to groove the opposing faces of the base or bracket plate 1l, but merely to interpose the ball-bearing cup and balls between the opposing surfaces of these parts. The provision ofsimple means for locking the rod 3 in the base in any desired position of adjustment facilitates assembling the' machines, as the insertion of the operating-rod brings the driving gear-wheel into mesh with the pinion in any case, no machine-work being required for fitting. The use of the rod 3 as a standard and also as a stud or bearing for the drive-wheel 5 is of great importance, in that it does away with the necessity of providing large castings and also dispenses with a large amount of shop- Work which would be required to lit such castings for the desired purpose.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine of the described class, the combination of a base; astandard-rod adapt` edy to be engaged in an opening i-n the base,

and having its upper end bent to form a bearing fora driving-wheel;v a sleeve, loose on the rod and supported thereby upon the base; holders for the milk-receptacles supported from the sleeve; a driving gear-wheel on the upper end of the standard; and a pinion fast on the sleeve adapted to mesh with the driving-wheel when the standard-rod is properly adjusted.

2. In a machine of the described class, the combination of a base, a standard-rod adjustably mounted therein, and forming a bearing at its upper end for a driving gearwheel; a sleeve rotatably mounted upon the rod; a driving gear-wheel and motion-transmitting connections between the same and said sleeve; and means, carried by the sleeve, for supporting the milk-receptacles.

3. In a machine of the described class, the combination of a base; a standard-rod adjustably mounted therein and forming a bear-A combination with a base; ofa driving gearwheel; a bearing-rod therefor, having an elbow and constituting a standard; means for adjustably securing said rod to the base; a rotatable carrier having sleeve bearings, through which the standard-rod passes to the base; a pinion on the carrier, arranged to mesh with the driving gear-wheel; and bottle-holdersmounted on the carrier.

5. In a machine of the described class, the combination with a base; of a driving gear- Wheel; a bearing-rod therefor, having an elbow and constituting a standard; means for adjustably securing said rod to the base; a rotatable carrier having sleeve-bearings through which the standard-rod passes to the base; a pinion on the carrier, arranged to mesh with the driving gear-wheel; bottleholders mounted on the carrier, and axially disalined with the standard.

6. In a machine of the described class, a bottle-supporting carrier, comprisingasleeve provided with a pinion, and a clampingplate; a second clamping-plate having an aperture corresponding with that of the sleeve; and bolts for securing the clampingplates together, and bottle-holders provided with supporting-bars engaged between the clamping-plates, one of the plates being recessed for the partial reception of the supporting-bars of the bottle-holders, whereby said bars, when inserted between the clamping-plates, are held against lateral movement.

7. In a machine of the described class, a bottle-supporting carrier, comprisinga sleeve provided with a pinion and a clampingplate; a second clamping-plate having an aperture corresponding with that of the sleeve; abase having au aperture also corresponding with the sleeve; a ball-carrying ring interposed between the base and lower clamping-plate; and a standard rod removably inserted through the sleeve, clamping-plates, ring, and secured in the base, said rod being provided with a gear-Wheel at its upper end, adapted to engage the pinion on the sleeve.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE M. LUTHER.

Witnesses:

JAs. B. ERWIN, LEvERE'rT C. WHEELER.

IOO

IIC

IIS 

